John Cena vs. The Rock. Again. Worst rematch ever

WWE Royal Rumble match delivers

Published: Sunday, January 27, 2013 at 5:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, January 30, 2013 at 9:35 a.m.

The WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view was going great until the main event.

But I guess you can't ask for everything.

After a strong opener with WWE World Champion Alberto Del Rio defeating Big Show, followed by a decent match with Kane/Daniel Bryan retaining their WWE tag-team titles, John Cena won what is easily the best Royal Rumble match in recent memory.

Then, WWE decided to restart a title match that was already decided (and won by CM Punk), and then The Rock won.

So, we're looking at Cena vs. The Rock 2 at WrestleMania 29.

Let's review:

Antonio Cesaro beats The Miz. ANALYSIS: I only saw clips of this match from the live PPV. Some solid spots were executed. It was smart to have Cesaro get the victory. His character is extremely strong right now. The Miz's use as a part-time announcer didn't help his case. PICK: I'm 1-0.

Alberto Del Rio beats The Big Show. ANALYSIS: It was a no-brainer that Del Rio would win after Bret Hart gave him a pre-match pep talk. I slightly marked out when Hart gave Ricardo Rodriguez his shades. The biggest spot of the match, where Big Show threw Del Rio off a structure near backstage and through a table, was superb. Decent spot with Big Show going through the barrier, too. You have to remember you can only do so many things to beat Big Show, even if they don't come across as 100 percent perfect on TV. I thought this worked, and was helped by chair shots and fire extinguishers. I really liked the use of duct tape on Big Show's feet to get the 10 count. It was refreshingly different. Very strong opener. PICK: I'm 2-0.

Kane/Daniel Bryan beat Cody Rhodes/Damien Sandow to retain the WWE Tag Team titles. ANALYSIS: I'm a little surprised the champs retained, but I guess WWE is going to ride their popularity as long as they can. Doing so, however, WWE really needs to have another very credible tag team or two to develop, and fast. Maybe The Shield will go after the straps. This was a decent match. Nothing horrible. Nothing great. PICK: I'm 2-1.

THE ROYAL RUMBLE MATCH

ANALYSIS: Dolph Ziggler entering as No. 1, of course, wasn't a shocker. Chris Jericho entering as No. 2 was the surprise of the night. The best feud was Cody Rhodes vs. Goldust (no one saw Goldust as an entrant). Another good feud was Bo Dallas vs. Wade Barrett, with Dallas tossing out Barrett and then Barrett getting revenge by tossing out Dallas.

Kofi Kingston had the spot of the night, even though he wasn't able to completely execute it. Had Kingston been able to jump from the Spanish announce table back into the ring, I would have majorly marked out. I think the table was just too far. The use of JBL's chair was a solid re-entry into the ring by Kingston. I can live with that. It hadn't been done before.

I liked the eliminations of Daniel Bryan and Kane. That was great stuff with Bryan throwing out Kane, and then Kane catching Bryan and debating whether to drop him after a back-and-forth of "yes" and "no."

In case you are wondering, WWE's pre-match list of the 20 confirmed were all in the match. The names of the wrestlers that stormed the Raw ring on my pre-match list only delivered one (Brodus Clay). The other surprise nine, besides Jericho and Goldust, were Santino Marella, Tensai, The Godfather, Zack Ryder, Sin Cara, Rey Mysterio and David Otunga. Of those, The Godfather was easily the biggest surprise. My predicted final eight was Cena, Orton, Sheamus, Ryback, Ziggler, The Miz, Barrett and Bryan. I got the first six of those, with Barrett being tossed out at 20 and Bryan being tossed out at 16. Instead, Sin Cara went out at 23 and Jericho went out at 25.

I almost had the final four correct. I predicted Randy Orton, Ryback, Cena and Sheamus. Instead, Ziggler made it and Orton was the 26th elimination. I personally think it's too little, too late in pushing Ryback to the final two, but WWE had to do that after having him enter as No. 30. And what was with Sin Cara at No. 29? Wow. What a downer. Clearly, Ziggler and Jericho stole the show as starting 1 and 2, respectively, and getting tossed at 25 and 27, respectively. So much for my Orton pick, too. I guess WWE fears he could get his third strike in the Wellness Policy as the champion. That wouldn't be good press.

The Rock's mom is shown in the crowd. ANALYSIS: A no-brainer he would win. Shame, shame.

The Rock beats CM Punk to win the WWE title. ANALYSIS: Pretty good match. It started out slow, but picked up when it went to the outside. Bad table spot when the table collapsed on The Rock and Punk before a move. Not their fault, but it didn't help the match. I'm assuming The Rock didn't hurt his knee, but who knows this early. I didn't care for the lights going out and WWE wanting us to believe The Shield aided Punk. Where was Brock Lesnar? Why did Vince McMahon not strip Punk of the title, instead letting The Rock's wish of restarting the match rule WWE? It was obvious The Rock would win on the restart. Crying shame. The "once-in-a-lifetime" match of The Rock vs. John Cena is almost upon us. Again. Simply put, The Rock will bring in more money and more interviews leading up to WrestleMania 29 as WWE Champion than CM Punk will. It is what it is. We can at least hope Punk vs. Undertaker is given to us. PICK: I'm 2-3.

Where was the Divas title match? Pick: None.

ANALYSIS: Strong opening matches, a superb Royal Rumble topped by Jericho's return and a few new feuds and a strong main event until the end. Tough to grade because I have a sour taste in my mouth over how the show ended. GRADE: B.

<p>The WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view was going great until the main event.</p><p> </p><p>But I guess you can't ask for everything.</p><p> </p><p>After a strong opener with WWE World Champion Alberto Del Rio defeating Big Show, followed by a decent match with Kane/Daniel Bryan retaining their WWE tag-team titles, John Cena won what is easily the best Royal Rumble match in recent memory.</p><p> </p><p>Then, WWE decided to restart a title match that was already decided (and won by CM Punk), and then The Rock won.</p><p> </p><p>So, we're looking at Cena vs. The Rock 2 at WrestleMania 29.</p><p> </p><p>Let's review:</p><p> </p><p>Antonio Cesaro beats The Miz. ANALYSIS: I only saw clips of this match from the live PPV. Some solid spots were executed. It was smart to have Cesaro get the victory. His character is extremely strong right now. The Miz's use as a part-time announcer didn't help his case. PICK: I'm 1-0.</p><p> </p><p>Alberto Del Rio beats The Big Show. ANALYSIS: It was a no-brainer that Del Rio would win after Bret Hart gave him a pre-match pep talk. I slightly marked out when Hart gave Ricardo Rodriguez his shades. The biggest spot of the match, where Big Show threw Del Rio off a structure near backstage and through a table, was superb. Decent spot with Big Show going through the barrier, too. You have to remember you can only do so many things to beat Big Show, even if they don't come across as 100 percent perfect on TV. I thought this worked, and was helped by chair shots and fire extinguishers. I really liked the use of duct tape on Big Show's feet to get the 10 count. It was refreshingly different. Very strong opener. PICK: I'm 2-0.</p><p> </p><p>Dolph Ziggler interview. ANALYSIS: Typical Ziggler stuff, but Big E. Langston stole the show here as an "announcer."</p><p> </p><p>Kane/Daniel Bryan beat Cody Rhodes/Damien Sandow to retain the WWE Tag Team titles. ANALYSIS: I'm a little surprised the champs retained, but I guess WWE is going to ride their popularity as long as they can. Doing so, however, WWE really needs to have another very credible tag team or two to develop, and fast. Maybe The Shield will go after the straps. This was a decent match. Nothing horrible. Nothing great. PICK: I'm 2-1.</p><p> </p><p><b>THE ROYAL RUMBLE MATCH</b></p><p> </p><p>ANALYSIS: Dolph Ziggler entering as No. 1, of course, wasn't a shocker. Chris Jericho entering as No. 2 was the surprise of the night. The best feud was Cody Rhodes vs. Goldust (no one saw Goldust as an entrant). Another good feud was Bo Dallas vs. Wade Barrett, with Dallas tossing out Barrett and then Barrett getting revenge by tossing out Dallas.</p><p> </p><p>Kofi Kingston had the spot of the night, even though he wasn't able to completely execute it. Had Kingston been able to jump from the Spanish announce table back into the ring, I would have majorly marked out. I think the table was just too far. The use of JBL's chair was a solid re-entry into the ring by Kingston. I can live with that. It hadn't been done before.</p><p> </p><p>I liked the eliminations of Daniel Bryan and Kane. That was great stuff with Bryan throwing out Kane, and then Kane catching Bryan and debating whether to drop him after a back-and-forth of "yes" and "no."</p><p> </p><p>In case you are wondering, WWE's pre-match list of the 20 confirmed were all in the match. The names of the wrestlers that stormed the Raw ring on my pre-match list only delivered one (Brodus Clay). The other surprise nine, besides Jericho and Goldust, were Santino Marella, Tensai, The Godfather, Zack Ryder, Sin Cara, Rey Mysterio and David Otunga. Of those, The Godfather was easily the biggest surprise. My predicted final eight was Cena, Orton, Sheamus, Ryback, Ziggler, The Miz, Barrett and Bryan. I got the first six of those, with Barrett being tossed out at 20 and Bryan being tossed out at 16. Instead, Sin Cara went out at 23 and Jericho went out at 25.</p><p> </p><p>I almost had the final four correct. I predicted Randy Orton, Ryback, Cena and Sheamus. Instead, Ziggler made it and Orton was the 26th elimination. I personally think it's too little, too late in pushing Ryback to the final two, but WWE had to do that after having him enter as No. 30. And what was with Sin Cara at No. 29? Wow. What a downer. Clearly, Ziggler and Jericho stole the show as starting 1 and 2, respectively, and getting tossed at 25 and 27, respectively. So much for my Orton pick, too. I guess WWE fears he could get his third strike in the Wellness Policy as the champion. That wouldn't be good press.</p><p> </p><p>Of note: Those left out from my pre-match list of wrestlers that stormed the Raw ring included JTG, Alex Riley, Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso, Justin Gabriel, Tatsu, Michael McGillicutty or Ted DiBiase, Primo or Epico and Curt Hawkins. Those that were rumored that didn't show up included AJ Lee, Big E. Langston, Shelton Benjamin, Carlito, Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Shane Helms, Chris Masters, Tommy Dreamer, Road Dogg, Billy Gunn, Low Ki (Kaval), MVP, Goldberg, Papa Shango (although The Godfather showed up), Jack Swagger, Mark Henry, Diamond Dallas Page and X-Pac.</p><p> </p><p>So, Orton didn't win. Cena did. PICK: I'm 2-2.</p><p> </p><p><b>THE ROCK VS. CM PUNK</b></p><p> </p><p>The Rock's mom is shown in the crowd. ANALYSIS: A no-brainer he would win. Shame, shame.</p><p> </p><p>The Rock beats CM Punk to win the WWE title. ANALYSIS: Pretty good match. It started out slow, but picked up when it went to the outside. Bad table spot when the table collapsed on The Rock and Punk before a move. Not their fault, but it didn't help the match. I'm assuming The Rock didn't hurt his knee, but who knows this early. I didn't care for the lights going out and WWE wanting us to believe The Shield aided Punk. Where was Brock Lesnar? Why did Vince McMahon not strip Punk of the title, instead letting The Rock's wish of restarting the match rule WWE? It was obvious The Rock would win on the restart. Crying shame. The "once-in-a-lifetime" match of The Rock vs. John Cena is almost upon us. Again. Simply put, The Rock will bring in more money and more interviews leading up to WrestleMania 29 as WWE Champion than CM Punk will. It is what it is. We can at least hope Punk vs. Undertaker is given to us. PICK: I'm 2-3.</p><p> </p><p>Where was the Divas title match? Pick: None.</p><p> </p><p><b>ANALYSIS:</b> Strong opening matches, a superb Royal Rumble topped by Jericho's return and a few new feuds and a strong main event until the end. Tough to grade because I have a sour taste in my mouth over how the show ended. <b>GRADE: B.</b></p><p> </p><p><b>LATEST HEADLINES AND MY REACTS</b></p><p> </p><p>Dana White said Brock Lesnar won't be back in UFC. REACT: Agree.</p><p> </p><p>Ric Flair reportedly suffers a blood clot in his leg. REACT: Still think WWE will let Flair wrestle again?</p>